Say Goodbye to Neverland and Hello to Adulthood

When we are young we dream of being grownups and all of the fun and exciting events that will take place in our lives. Adulthood is very exciting and there are many wonderful times that happen as an adult but it seems that as young children we block out all of the difficult times we will encounter as adults. As a child, you view adulthood as, getting married, having babies, going to bed when you want to go to bed and basically just having unlimited freedom with no one telling you what to do. Honestly, some of these are true but for the most part a child's view on adulthood is warped.

Because I recently graduated from college (7 months ago), and have been living on my own, starting a new job and living (finally) in the same city as my wonderful boyfriend, I have had to adjust and find my own routine. Since graduating, life has been wonderful but it has also been very eye opening to the worries of adulthood which got me thinking about this blog topic. Once you graduate from college and leave the "nest" you have officially left Neverland; you are no longer a child. Finally, the time has come that you have dreamed about since a child, you are on your own and taking life by the horns! Because I am just beginning my adult journey, I wanted to compile a list of 5 things or ideas that children often forget when they think of adulthood and leaving Neverland.

Number 1: Paying Bills 

I think any adult will agree with me that paying bills SUCKS!! You make money at your job that you spend the majority of your life and week at, all for that money to pay for cable, internet, water, power, your car and rent. As a child you imagine all of the wonderful things you will have and believe me you will have nice things if you are good with your money but you never imagined in your grand vision of adulthood that you would have to pay bills.

Number 2: Budgeting

Budgeting goes along with number 1 because in order for you to be able to pay your bills, buy groceries and have some spending money for fun all depends on how you budget each month. While it is important to budget it is also important to save your money and create an 'emergency fund' just in case something were to happen regarding your job, health etc.

Number 3: Keeping Up a House

Moving to Atlanta, my parents purchased me a condo in Buckhead. I absolutely love where I live because of its awesome location but even before I moved in I never expected how much work it would be to keep the place up. Vacuuming, dusting, laundry and cleaning the bathroom doesn't bother me because I cleaned my own room and bathroom when I lived with my parents and did my own laundry all throughout college. Those chores in my mind are essential but what sucks is mopping the kitchen floor, cleaning the entire house, making sure the kitchen is clean and unloading the dishwasher. If chores were not enough, when anything breaks it is my responsibility to call a technician to come check out the problem and then pay an arm and a leg for them to fix it. My first week of living in my condo I went to take a shower only to find out I had not hot water and needed a new hot water heater. I immediately called and had a technician install a new hot water heater the next day and that was one expense I had not budgeted for.

Number 4: Eating Healthy

Now that you are on your own, your mother is no longer making your meals and forcing you to eat the brussel sprouts you hate. As an adult it is often difficult to eat healthy and to make healthy meals because you are finally able to avoid all the foods you are not really crazy about and eat the foods that you enjoy. However, I try and buy vegetables when I go to the grocery store and accompany them with humas or something that will make me eat my veggies. Planning meals is also very difficult. Cooking for one or two people can often make us want to go out to eat or do something quick with little effort. Recently, I have been on Pintrest looking for healthy and nutritious meals that I can easily make for one or two people. Taking care of yourself as an adult is very important.

Number 5: Making Yourself Do the things you HATE

So....I despise the dentist, like I actually hate and have great anxiety and fear about going and that really goes for the doctor as well. I have found a hair dresser but still need to find a dentist and a doctor and neither are difficult to find, the problem is I keep putting it off and not wanting to think about it because they freak me out. But, I know that a responsible adult goes to the doctor and the dentist, so I will eventually make myself go just not immediately. This statement not only applies to the dentist and the doctor but to every other situation or event in our adult life that we do not want to go to but know we need to for whatever reason.

Thinking back over these five things, makes me realize that these are small and trivial things that happen in your adult life and are quite normal. I have adjusted just fine to my 6 months on my own and I feel as if I can handle anything that life throws at me. Sometimes, I wish I could see adulthood through the eyes of a child and focus on only the good. At the end of this post, I thought I would be saying that I wish I could go back to Neverland; and while it had some great aspects, adulthood is greater. Yes, you will encounter annoying and normal life issues and even greater ones along the way but as an adult, you experience some of the greatest events in your life and you become the person you were meant to be. Neverland was great and nurturing but its time to fully immerse myself in adulthood and enjoy every minute of it.

Decorate for Thanksgiving?

....and when the clock strikes 12 am on November 1st, the ghost and goblins will disappear and Santa with his 8 magic reindeer will decorate every department store in American until December the 26th!

Within the past few years I have began to notice that Christmas has been coming earlier and earlier. Now, don't get me wrong, I AM OBSESSED WITH ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS, but is it not wrong to skip a holiday where we give thanks? Thanksgiving is an American holiday where Americans give thanks for their many blessings and the way God has blessed them throughout the year. The first Thanksgiving began when the Native Americans (Squanto) helped the Pilgrims harvest the land. The Pilgrims were thankful for the ways the Native Americans assisted them during their first year at Plymouth. 

As a consumer culture it is difficult for businesses to not want to start marketing for the Christmas season as early as possible or for many Americans (especially women) to want to immediately start decorating for Christmas the first week of November. But I am someone who believes in celebrating every holiday to the fullest, which has me thinking about why many people did not decorate for Thanksgiving.

Yes, Christmas decorations and marketing make more money but if more Thanksgiving decorations were produced, advertised and sold, do you think that people would relax and celebrate each holiday as it comes rather than jumping to the next (Christmas)? Because I love to celebrate the holidays, I thought of some ways people could decorate for Thanksgiving that would make their homes feel warm and special for that wonderful meal with family and friends. 

Because Thanksgiving has never been a consumer holiday (except for turkey companies), many people skimp on the decorations and move to Christmas decorations but there are so many easy and simplistic (not corny) ways to decorate your home for the Thanksgiving holiday. I have three easy ideas that anyone can pull off: The first decorating tip would be to buy a cornucopia as your center piece for your dining room table. This idea is simple and can be filled with natural fruits and vegetables, such as pumpkins, corn, gourds, grapes, fall leaves, etc.

The second Thanksgiving decorating dip is to make a Thanksgiving tree! For the past 2 Thanksgivings my mommy has made a Thanksgiving tree that she places on our dining room table. The tree is comprised of skinny, small branches that one can purchase at a gardening store, The branches are bare and stretch up to 3 feet tall. The makeshift artificial barren tree is planted in a pretty pot of your choosing and the roots are covered with gray moss (I know it sounds ugly). On these barren leaves she has cut dozens of red leaf cut outs and punched a hole in the corner of each leaf in order for a piece of brown twine to be threaded through. On these leaves we each take 4-5 and write what we are thankful for and go around the table and share. One we have shared our Thanksgivings we hang our leaves delicately on the trees barren branches filling them with life. This decorating tip has become one of my favorite things about my families Thanksgiving.

The third and final decorating tip for Thanksgiving is to jazz up your front door with mums, pumpkins and a Thanksgiving wreath. Because mums are in season from September-November, mums make a great flower for Thanksgiving and come in such gorgeous fall colors (yellow, orange and a deep red). And don't be fooled, pumpkins are not only for Halloween, pumpkins can we used for Thanksgiving decorations too as long as the pumpkin has not been turned into a Jack-O-Lantern. As for the wreath on the front door; places such as Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and even Walmart have pretty fall wreaths for sell, If you are feeling extra crafty you can even come up with some great ideas for your homemade Thanksgiving wreath (with the help of Pintrest, of course). 

These are just a few tips on how we can decorate for Thanksgiving and not complete skip over it. While the mainstream market won't pay much attention to Thanksgiving or its decorations does not mean you should too. Celebrate each holiday to the fullest and remember that when the clock strikes 12 am on November 1st, you do not have to ditch your Halloween costume and begin listening to Christmas music. Take time to wind down and enjoy a holiday where you give thanks for the blessings God has allowed in your life, while you are surrounded by family on friends on Thanksgiving. Christmas will come every year, so instead of celebrating and decorating for Christmas on November 1st lets wait until after Thanksgiving and celebrate each moment as it comes.